House Cleaning checklists

Standard clean checklist

Routine upkeep of an already-maintained home. Work the hardest rooms first while your energy is highest, top to bottom and left to right around each room, with floors always last. Use your color-coded cloths so a bathroom cloth never touches a kitchen counter.

• Bathrooms first: apply cleaner to the toilet, shower, and sink and let it dwell
• While it dwells, clean the bathroom mirrors and surfaces (streak-free)
• Come back and scrub the toilet, shower, and sink, then wipe down
• Finish each bathroom with the floor
• Kitchen: clear and wipe the counters
• Clean the sink and fixtures so they shine
• Wipe appliance fronts and the stovetop (let degreaser dwell while you do other surfaces)
• Kitchen floor last
• Bedrooms and living areas: dust top to bottom (shelves, surfaces, then down)
• Tidy surfaces
• Hit the details clients check: baseboards, faucet shine, streak-free mirrors
• Vacuum bedrooms and living areas
• All floors last, working toward the door so you walk out over a clean floor
• Lock up and text the client: all done, locked up, have a great day

Deep clean checklist

The first clean of a home that has not been professionally cleaned, or a periodic catch-up. Built-up grime, baseboards, inside appliances, and detail work take far longer, which is why it is priced 1.5 to 2 times a standard clean. Do everything on the standard list, plus the detail work below.

• Everything on the standard clean checklist, done slower and more thoroughly
• Scrub built-up grime in bathrooms (grout, shower, around fixtures)
• Wipe down all baseboards
• Detail dusting: blinds, fans (extendable duster for high corners), high shelves
• Inside the oven (add-on, often $25 to $60)
• Inside the refrigerator (add-on, often $25 to $60)
• Interior windows (add-on)
• Take before-and-after photos of the kitchen and bathrooms (privacy-safe)
• Let products do the scrubbing: apply, walk away, come back, wipe
• Offer the recurring plan at the reveal to keep the home this fresh

Move-out clean checklist

A detailed clean of an empty home to help the client get their deposit back. No furniture in the way, but nothing left uncleaned. Slow, detailed work that commands a premium, often $250 to $500 depending on size. Usually a one-time job that pays a strong premium and often leads to a referral.

• Inside every cabinet and drawer
• Inside the oven
• Inside and behind the refrigerator
• Every surface and countertop
• All baseboards
• Bathrooms detailed: toilet, shower, tub, sink, mirror, fixtures
• Kitchen sink and all fixtures
• Interior windows and sills
• Light fixtures and fan blades, top to bottom
• All floors vacuumed and mopped, working toward the door
• Final walk-through so nothing is missed

Airbnb turnover checklist

A fast, thorough, reliable clean of a short-term rental between guests, often the same day a new guest checks in. Runs on a tight, unforgiving clock, so you clean the same property the same way every time to get fast and consistent. Communicate the moment anything threatens the timing.

• Strip and remake all beds with fresh linens
• Collect and start laundry (towels and linens) or swap for clean sets
• Clean and sanitize bathrooms: toilet, shower, sink, mirror, surfaces, floor
• Replace towels and restock toiletries and paper goods
• Kitchen: wash or load dishes, wipe counters, clean sink and stovetop, wipe appliance fronts
• Empty and reset the refrigerator of any guest leftovers
• Dust and wipe all surfaces top to bottom
• Vacuum and mop all floors, working toward the door
• Empty all trash and reset liners
• Reset the space to its standard staged look for the next guest
• Quick check for guest-left items and any damage to report to the owner
• Confirm with the owner that the turnover is done and the unit is ready